Crying While Filling the Pit I Dug - Chapter 72

After Ling Qi left, Yi Qing muttered to himself, “It’s not enough to call him by his name in bed, you still want to give him a fan?”

Song Miaomiao didn’t hear clearly. “What?”

“Nothing,” Yi Qing said sullenly.

The two of them were silent all the way and returned to the Princess Mansion.

Song Miaomiao said to Yan Yu while drinking herbal tea, “Yan Yu, go to the storeroom and choose a good folding fan inlaid with jade.”

Yi Qing didn’t say a word but paused for a moment with the hand that was holding the herbal tea and was about to drink it.

Yan Yu said, “Yes, this servant remembers that there is a high-quality folding fan inlaid with jade in the warehouse, and there are characters mentioned by the calligraphers of the previous dynasty on the fan.”

“Yes, yes,” Song Miaomiao added, “Remember to choose a jade pendant to go with it.”

Yi Qing simply stopped drinking, put down the tea, and stroked the sachet that Song Miaomiao gave him that was hanging on his waist.

Yan Yu said, “This servant obeys.”

Song Miaomiao said, “After choosing, wrap it in a gift box.”

Yan Yu wondered, “Is the Princess going to give it away?”

Song Miaomiao nodded and said, “Yes, after you make your selection, send it to Lord Ling Qi’s mansion, which is the mansion of this year’s first ranked scholar.”

Yan Yu glanced at Yi Qing in surprise and said, “Didn’t the Princess choose it for the Prince Consort?”

In the dynasty, folding fans were usually used by men. Women mostly used round fans, and while folding fans were also used, they were not the mainstream. So when Yan Yu heard that, she assumed that the Princess had chosen the gifts for Yi Qing. It was no secret that the Princess used to send things to Master Yi.

At one point, items in the Sishui Hall had gone missing—a sword, a brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone— always disappearing just as the Princess was about to go out. The first time Yan Yu even checked the palace maids, but they had no answers. Later, the disappearances became so frequent and accurate that Yan Yu asked the Princess herself. At that time, the Princess faltered and claimed it was magic, so Yan Yu didn’t press further.

Speaking of which, the Princess hadn’t given anything to her husband for a long, long time. What did it mean to give a folding fan to another man in front of the Prince Consort? Could it be that the Princess and the Prince Consort had a quarrel? Or was it that the Princess had taken a fancy to the rumored gentle and unparalleled Imperial Examination topper?

After all, apart from giving things to His Majesty and the Crown Prince, the only ones that the Princess gave things to were the Prince Consort and… the number one scholar.

Yi Qing’s face remained as calm as water, and he put his hands under the table, holding the sachet tightly.

Song Miaomiao said blankly, “No.”

Seeing that the Prince Consort and the Princess didn’t seem to have any special reactions, Yan Yu secretly complained that she must be thinking too much.

Song Miaomiao also felt that Yan Yu was thinking too much. So she explained, “I accidentally soiled the jade pendant and his folding fan last time, so I want to give him new things as an apology.”

Yan Yu thought that if the jade pendant was dirty, wouldn’t it be clean after wiping it? It was not broken, and why would the number one scholar care about the Princess? Giving him a jade-inlaid folding fan for it was too much. Forget it, she didn’t need to worry about the master’s affairs.

After thinking about it, Song Miaomiao added, “That fan must have been dirty too, so give him a whole set.”

Yi Qing didn’t answer, only Yan Yu said again, “Yes.”

Forget it, she explained. She was upright.

—————————

During dinner, Yan Yu brought back the gift from Ling Qi.

“Princess, this is a return gift from Master Ling,” Yan Yu said.

Yi Qing paused for a moment.

Song Miaomiao picked up a piece of mushroom. “Oh? What is it?”

Yan Yu replied, “This servant does not know.”

Song Miaomiao put down her chopsticks and opened the lid of the box. Inside was a set of exquisitely crafted figurines.

“The man was really courteous enough. And also very thoughtful, although the gift is not expensive. At least the packaging box is very expensive; it appears to be a very sincere gift, not just a perfunctory gift,” Song Miaomiao remarked.

Song Miaomiao randomly picked up a dough figurine, in the shape of Monkey King holding a golden cudgel. The set was based on Journey to the West, with four masters and apprentices, white dragons, horses, immortals, monsters, and demons.

“There is actually a story of Journey to the West in this world?” Song Miaomiao thought.

Yan Yu asked, “Is there a book under the figures?”

Song Miaomiao picked up the cute figures, revealing the blue book cover, on which were written three big characters – “Journey to the West”.

“Wow, ‘Journey to the West’!” Song Miaomiao couldn’t help admiring. “It’s great.”

When Song Miaomiao was in the orphanage as a child, she almost read Journey to the West dozens of times, remembering every detail clearly. Brother Hou had always been her idol!

It had been many years since she had read this ancient and original “Journey to the West.”.

She simply didn’t eat, took out the book, and read it with relish. Then, she ordered Yan Yu to take out the figurines and put them in the study.